Senate votes to step up dam inspections

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Senate passed legislation stepping up state inspections of dams Thursday in response to December's failure of the Taum Sauk reservoir.

The bill, which now heads to the House, would more than triple the number of dams inspected by the Department of Natural Resources, more than double its inspection staff and authorize new fees to pay for the regulation.

The legislation comes after the Taum Sauk breach deluged Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park with more than 1 billion gallons of water.

That reservoir was subject to federal -- but not state -- inspections.

Taum Sauk and other federally regulated dams, such as Bagnell Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks, would become subject to state inspection under the bill.

The legislation also expands the reach of state inspectors to dams at least 25 feet high and holding back at least 50 acre-feet of water. Current law grants the state regulatory power only for dams at least 35 feet high.

The Department of Natural Resources projects the number of dams subject to its inspection would rise to 2,100, from the current 635.

Dams considered to pose a "high hazard," based on the potential loss of human life if they fail, would be inspected every two years.

-- AP